Raceway for stitch-forming reciprocating elements.



W. H. STEDMAN. RACEWAY FOR- STITCH FORMING REGIPROOATING ELEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 23, 1910.

1,086,790. Patented Feb. 10, 191 4.

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Wm-:51 \41 INVENTU H15 ATTORNEYS \JOLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. STEDMAN, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE MEBROW MACHINE COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- NECTICU'I.

RACEWAY FOR STITCH-FORMING RECIPROCATING ELEMENTS.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. STED- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Raceways for Stitch -Forming Reciprocating Elements; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the characters of reference marked on the said drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a raceway capable of a great amount of use with very little resulting wear, also one, the several parts of which are easily constructed and readily assembled.

The invention consists in a device having the qualities mentioned and as set forth and claimed hereinafter.

The invention aims particularly to improve the door or so-called frame cap of crocheting and overseaming machines of the well known Merrow type and an embodiment of the invention is shown and described in connection with such type of machine. The function and general construction of the frame cap will be readily understood by reference to Patent #441,315 issued November 25, 1890 to Joseph M. Merrow for improvements in crochet machines, the said function in brief being to support certain operating parts of the machine mechanism and to close an opening in the machine frame through which interior mechanism of the machine is accessible. In the present instance, however, the frame cap is shown and described as applied to an overseam sewing machine, the same in general character as that for which Letters Patent #591,049 were issued October 5th, 1897 to Joseph M. Merrow.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 shows in dotted lines the partial outline of an overseaming machine and the frame cap and shows in full lines the reciprocating element or block (here the lower looper carrier) and mechanism for actuating the reciprocating element. Fig. 2 shows in full lines an edge view of the frame cap with the lower looper carrier mounted thereon and in dotted lines adjacent mechanism and portions of the machine. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the inner Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 23, 1910.

Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

Serial No. 598,972.

face of the frame cap etc, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2 viewed from the left hand of the said figure. Fig. at is a view, similar to Fig. 3, showing the reverse or outer face of the frame cap etc. Fig. 5 is an elevation of a portion of the inner face of the frame cap, largely stripped of related elements. Fig. 6 shows an element of the raceway, detached. Fig. 7 is a sectional view, illustrating a portion of the frame cap with the raceway arranged thereon.

Like reference characters throughout the several figures denote the same parts.

The number 10 indicates the frame of the machine, 11 the head, 12 the main shaft, 13 the hand and drive whel, 14 the upper shaft, 12 -l4"- meshing gears on cylindrical cams 12 14[ respectively, on the shafts 12 and 14 and having cam grooves 12 14 The number 30 denotes the frame cap, 20 the lower looper carrier mounted to recip rocate in a raceway on the frame cap, 18 the upper looper carrier pivotally mounted by its stud 18 upon the lower looper carrier 20, the latter having a hub 21 in which the said stud has a bearing space.

18 indicates the upper looper carrier cam rolls which engage the cam grooves l2 1-fl:, and 16 and 17 denote respectively the lower and upper loopers. The frame cap is recessed at 30 to receive the lower looper carrier hub 21 and is provided with an opening 30 to permit a thread take-up 50 formed on the hub to project through the frame cap.

The very rapid reciprocatory motion of the lower looper carrier is imparted thereto through the upper looper carrier which is actuated with a combined oscillatory and reciprocatory motion by the cylindrical cams, the reciprocatory motion being permitted because of the capability of the lower looper carrier to travel in the raceway on the frame cap.

Describing more particularly the frame cap and raceway,the number 31 denotes the adjustable gib and 32 the fixed gib forming the side walls of the raceway and secured to the frame cap by the screws 33 and 33 respectively. The number 34: denotes the gib adjusting wedge or key that is located between the gib 31 and the frame cap shoulder 30 and the number 35 denotes the wedge screw.

. to the shoulder 30?. In lieu of the locating rib, the screws 33 are provided under the head with a cylindrical body portion 33 which is of slightly greater diameter than the threaded portion of the screw and is adapted to be located partly in the frame cap and partly in the gib and the said body portion is made so close fit in the holes therefor in the frame cap and gib that the screws serve as dowels and effect the accurate locating of the gib.

To increase the wearing properties of the raceway, the bottom wall is made of'a separate piece 40 of steel or other material harder than the frame cap and capable of better with standing wear. The piece 40 is inlaid, preferably by dovetailing into the frame cap, and may be secured against longitudinal displacement in the dovetail groove by doweling as at 4:1, Figs. 5 and 6, and the piece 40 has suitable openings registering with the frame cap recess 80 and the take-up opening 30 and also with screw holes 43, Fig. 6, for screws to attach a part not shown in the drawings.

hen the inlaid piece 10 is in its seat, the wearing face or surface which forms the bottom wall of the raceway is in the plane of the surfaces 30 engaged by the gibs 31 and 32,, or at least the said wearing surface ofthe inlaid piece and the surfaces 30 may be readily ground (if necessary) to a common plane after the seating of the inlaid piece, to enable the proper assembling of the gibs 31 and 32 upon the frame cap 30.

The gibs preferably overlap the inlaid piece, the width of the wearing face of the said piece being somewhat greater than the bottom wall ofthe raceway so that the en tire wearing surface for the raceway bottom is provided by the piece of inlaid material, as shown in Fig. 7.

The piece 40, if made with sufficient accuracy can easily be renewed.

While the gib 31 is preferably constructed to permit the taking up laterally of wear caused by the reciprocating element 20, the gibs 31 and 32 are secured to their common support (the frame cap) in relatively stationary or fixed positions, as regards longitudinal movement with reference to each other and to the frame cap.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a sewing machine, a raceway for stitch forming reciprocating elements including in combination, two side wall pieces located in a single plane, a bottom wall piece of suitable wear resisting material and a common support for same, one of the said side wall pieces being adjustably secured to the support and the other being held in fixed relation thereto on a plane face of the support and cylindrical elements fitting in and holding in alinement registering bores in the said side wall piece and support, respectively. v

2. Ina sewing machine in combination with a suitable support, araceway comprising two removable side wall pieces and a removablebottom wall piece, one of the said side wall pieces being fixedly secured to the support by means including a plurality of screws each having a cylindrical portion formed thereon that accurately fits alined cylindrical passages in the support and side wall piece respectively, for preventing lateral movement of the same, the other side wall piece being adjustably secured to the said support, means for efiecting the lat eral adjustment .of the said wall piece, and means for securing the bottom wall piece to the support.

3. In a raceway for stitch forming reciprocating elements, a support havlng two surfaces finished in a plane common to both and having adove-tail channel between the surfaces, two side wall pieces secured to the support on the said surfaces respectively and a bottom wall piece mounted in the dove-tail channel the side wall and bottom wall pieces being stationary longitudinally with relation to each other.

4. In a raceway for stitch forming reciprocating elements, a support for the raceway, a bottom wall piece inlaid in the support and having a wearing face, said support having surfaces located 111 the plane of the wearing face of the inlaid piece, and two side wall pieces secured on the said surfaces and overlapping the inlaid piece at its opposite edges the side wall and bottom wall pieces being stationary longitudinally with relation to each other.

WILLIAM H. STEDMAN. Witnesses Giro. S. SPENCER, S. N. TILLOTSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patentm Washington, D. C. 

